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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wasn't enjoying it much through the first half or so. But as the Denmark portion of the story developed, I became more intrigued. Even the California parts had more color & interest at that point, so it finished strong.
Maybe I'm being rash but I think this book has cemented Stegner in place as one of my favorite authors, possibly even my favorite author. With each of his works I feel as if I've stumbled on some secret power that I can reread and consult for the rest of my life, and that each time I partake I will learn and appreciate even more.
This book (as are his others that I've read so far) is full of wisdom and truth and is so satisfyingly contemplative, all while being as far from pretentious or stuffy as a book about growing old could be. Allston's constant literary references are one of my greatest delights and his curmudgeonly humor seeps through in a familiar and lovable way. Now I really want to read Out of Africa.
Only 4 stars because there were a few passages I could have done without as well as a bizarre side plot, but all are easy to overlook when thinking about the beauty of the book as a whole.
This book (as are his others that I've read so far) is full of wisdom and truth and is so satisfyingly contemplative, all while being as far from pretentious or stuffy as a book about growing old could be. Allston's constant literary references are one of my greatest delights and his curmudgeonly humor seeps through in a familiar and lovable way. Now I really want to read Out of Africa.
Only 4 stars because there were a few passages I could have done without as well as a bizarre side plot, but all are easy to overlook when thinking about the beauty of the book as a whole.
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I learned what a reje sandwich is (Danish shrimp salad) and a lunar rainbow from this book. The rest of it was not for me, and I hope it's not ageist to say so. The entire eugenicist storyline seems like a buffer from the infidelity storyline, and although the former was initially surprising, it only prolonged the expected unfolding of the latter. Does Astrid's plight make her more attractive? I searched for her irresistable appeal, or even hints of attraction, before their island tryst, and other than pitifulness I don't see what draws them together.
I appreciated the skillful story within a story and even the "reading aloud my journal to my wife" conceit, but ultimately the protagonist's perspective, unless it is deliberately corny ("martial is the anagram of marital" ugggh), is too antagonistic towards everything around him, despite every freedom other than an aging body. I guess I take away from it some scenes and strategies of a long marriage.
The depiction of Stanford as a hippie den in the 70's is amazing to imagine though!
I appreciated the skillful story within a story and even the "reading aloud my journal to my wife" conceit, but ultimately the protagonist's perspective, unless it is deliberately corny ("martial is the anagram of marital" ugggh), is too antagonistic towards everything around him, despite every freedom other than an aging body. I guess I take away from it some scenes and strategies of a long marriage.
The depiction of Stanford as a hippie den in the 70's is amazing to imagine though!
This short novel is about survival - not in the wilds of nature, but in the tangled roots of day to day life in a marriage.
Wallace Stegner was highly praised here so I took the plunge, diving into The Spectator Bird, which seems to be not his best (or at least not as widely read).
I took a while to get into it. A retired book publisher nearing 70, Joe Alston, seems bored with his quiet life and his unassuming manner. Then the arrival of a postcard from a friend from long ago sends him to his study to find his journals that were written during the time of that friendship. Once his wife Ruth finds out that he had written journals then, and having been there herself, she insists on him reading them aloud to her.
So the pattern of The Spectator Bird is set - alternating between the journals covering events in Denmark in 1954 and the present day, 20 years afterwards (1974).
It’s a slow burn, well plotted with at times exquisite language.
I took a while to get into it. A retired book publisher nearing 70, Joe Alston, seems bored with his quiet life and his unassuming manner. Then the arrival of a postcard from a friend from long ago sends him to his study to find his journals that were written during the time of that friendship. Once his wife Ruth finds out that he had written journals then, and having been there herself, she insists on him reading them aloud to her.
So the pattern of The Spectator Bird is set - alternating between the journals covering events in Denmark in 1954 and the present day, 20 years afterwards (1974).
It’s a slow burn, well plotted with at times exquisite language.
I found it really hard to care about cranky retired literary agent Joe Allston and his trip down memory lane about a past journey to Denmark, where he and his wife uncovered some truly awful goings-on. The writing was excellent, with some turns of phrase that really stuck with me, but overall I was not very engaged with the story, which could have just been a matter of the wrong book, wrong time.
Wallace Stegner is such a treasure. How have I never been read any of his books before? This year, I've read two and both have dog-earred pages where I have been stunned either the beauty of his writing or the resonating truth in his words. In this book, a retired man who feels he has spent his life on the sidelines, revisits a trip he and his wife took 20 years earlier to his mother's place of Denmark where they met and befriended a mysterious and compelling Countess.